By Elan Frankel, Inspiration Group Asia
A blanket of thick smog lay over Beijing this week. A heavy, greyish substance assaulting the eyes and lungs, forcing parents to keep their children in doors. On days like this the basic right to breath fresh air seems derived from the realm of science fiction.
The challenge of air pollution is by no means unique to Beijing or to China, although the situation here is an acute one. Taking a historical perspective, it is characteristic of cities going through a process of rapid industrial growth – fueled by coal.
Ask the ordinary Beijinger as to the causes or air pollution, and a passing bus will present the unambiguous answer. Pollution from vehicles – and Beijing has 5 million of them – is a significant contributing factor, as is pollution from factories situated within the vicinity and at times outside of Beijing, a fact city officials like in particular to point out.
In a carbon-based economy, speaking about air pollution translates into speaking about energy production. In a country like China where most electricity and domestic heating is produced by burning coal – a linear relationship exists between energy production and air quality.
So in regards to air pollution the relevant question is, how could we most effectively reduce energy consumption?
The answer is a surprising one to most of us, and lies in our own homes and offices.
According to research 40%-50% of the total energy production in China is consumed in buildings in the form of heating, cooling and lighting. In other words, by staying at home with our kids on a smoggy day, we are actually passively contributing to the rising levels of air pollution.
The reason for that is that the buildings in which we live were not designed to be energy efficient. The materials from which they were constructed are sometimes the perfect antithesis to what an ecologically sound design would require. In the summer months buildings clad with glass create a greenhouse effect requiring exuberant amounts of energy for cooling. In the winter months they offer very little in the form of insulation, and thus require high amounts of energy for heating.
We tend to be attracted to ‘sexy’ innovations; the concentrated photo-voltaic solar panels, Elon Musk’s hyper loop, but in terms of energy efficiency simple solutions are extremely effective, just like closing a window on a cold day is.
Although the technologies, software and materials used in modifying or creating energy efficient buildings may contain sophisticated components, the basic concept and implementation is extremely simple.
It’s easy to understand the modification of buildings into energy efficient ones by personifying them. Buildings hold heat which escapes though their openings and external surface – their ‘skin’.
When we want to keep warm we make sure to insulate ourselves with fabrics. The more ‘air tight’ our cover is, overlapping in the seams; and the more insulating the fabric (basically meaning the material is a very poor conveyer of heat or energy), the warmer we can keep with less caloric expenditure.
Cover a building with a thermal insulating skin (which could actually be made of organic wool); seal the main areas where heat escapes – windows, doors, the roof, the basement; create an efficient heating system and the energy consumption required drops significantly.
How significantly? Existing buildings, which are fitted with thermal insulation and a modern heating system, can reduce energy consumption by 60%. Add software, smart ventilation solutions and the use of solar energy and this figure can bring about an 80% reduction in the energy usage.
Challenges from another century and a city beginning with BE
By the end of the 19th century, Berlin, the sprawling capital of the new unified German state was facing a series of environmental challenges actually more acute than those experienced in China today.
Within a span of 25 years the city’s population had doubled, surpassing 2 million by 1900. Taking into consideration the global population at the time and the fact that it was mostly rural, a city of 2 million was the equivalent of today’s megapolis’.
Massive industrialization was attracting immigrants from across the country, at a rate faster than the city’s infrastructure could accommodate. The exploding population and booming economy was creating major health hazards in the form of sanitation issues, water quality, and yes, air pollution.
The city was a huge construction site, with many of the classic buildings from the Altbau type, still lining the city’s streets today being built at a rapid pace. Whole neighborhoods were created in the span of years, with outlying villages such as Wedding or Neukolln being transfigured into urban areas.
During the cold winters, the city was covered with a layer of smog, resulting not just from industry but also from a much more basic source – coal used for the heating of homes. Most apartments held a small furnace, with coal stored in the building’s basement, coal that was consumed during the winter months. The building’s beautiful stucco decorations and facades were darkening fast from the soot.
Necessity is the mother of innovation, and the challenges presented by coal burning were tackled ingeniously by German engineers. The idea was simple, the implementation more complex. Neighborhood heating systems were created where water was heated in large, energy efficient facilities. The steam or hot water was then pumped through insulated pipes which crisscrossed neighborhoods and buildings like arteries distributing heat. The name of the system was Fernwarme and such systems are responsible for much of the heat generation in buildings in Berlin today.
This type of system must sound familiar to Beijing inhabitants which enjoy state subsidized heating – a well intended policy – however, when combined with inefficient building materials and design they lead to massive waste of energy, and thus to the unnecessary burning of coal.
The quality of many of the buildings in Beijing is not unlike those built during the post war years in Berlin, particularly in the eastern part of the city. These types of structures have the most to benefit from an energy efficient retrofitting. While newly constructed buildings implementing top of the line technologies can reach a carbon-neutral state, and at times producing more energy than they actually consume, their cost will be still significantly higher than eco-modified buildings.
The figures can be demonstrated in Inspiration Group’s Malplaquet 39 project. An Altbau property built in in 1900, it has been retrofitted with a new thermal insulation, and a Fernawarme heating system leading to a significant reduction in energy consumption. Newly renovated apartments in the property are marketed in the vicinity of 2,000 EUR/sqm compared with 3,000-4,000 EUR/sqm in newly developed buildings. From an ecological point of view, renovating an existing building in this fashion is much more environmentally friendly compared to building a completely new, albeit more energy efficient, one.
Apartments in eco-efficient buildings also receive higher rents as they offer savings in heating expenses for tenants. Policies implemented in Berlin also encourage developers and homeowners through tax benefits and loan incentives, resulting in an increasing number of energy efficient buildings.
Modifying properties has become an emerging industry creating jobs in companies specializing in the development, manufacturing and installation of even more efficient and cost effective artifacts.
In this respect, Berlin represents a model in which air pollution reduction not only does not contradict economic growth – but actually enhances it.